Plow-shovel.



s. M. JOHNSTON.

PLOW SHOVEL. APPLICATION FILED MAY 21 1914.

1,191,793. I Patented July 18, 1916.

TE SA rnow-snovnn Specification of Letters Patent.

I Application filed May21, 1914. Serial No. 840,046.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Snnowron M. JOHN- STON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Liberty, in the county of Anderson, State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plow-Shovels; and I do hereby declare the fol lowing to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements inshovels for plows, cultivators and similar agricultural implements.

As is well known, it is the general practice to make the body or bladeof the ordi nary plow shovel or cultivator shovel of uniform thicknessthroughout, the lower end of r the shovel being, of course, beveled andpointed to form a sharp cutting edge. As this cutting edge or point ofthe shovel is worn through use, it becomes rounded and blunted,frequently to such an extent that instead of there being a point at thelower end of the shovel, the latter presents a curved blunt edge ofsubstantially the same thickness as the body or blade of the shovel. Theresult is that the shovel is practically incapable of performing itsintended functions and it must be removed from the shank and repointedand sharpened. Now, in repointing and sharpening such a shovel, it iscustomary and even usually necessary for the blacksmith to out off asection from the lower end of the shovel, the out being. made along aninclined or beveled line so that a piece resembling a segment is removedfrom the lower end of the shovel. It will thus be evident that the'lifeof the shovel is comparatively short, due to the cutting off andthrowing away of substantial pieces as above mentioned. Consequently theold shovels must frequently be replaced with new ones, and this, inaddition to the cost of repointing and sharpening such old shovels,results in a considerable item of expense to the farmer.

It is my purpose, therefore, in the present instance to provide a shovelof the type mentioned, which may be repointed and sharpened withoutcutting away a substantial piece of the blade or body of the shovel, andwithout requiring the blacksmith to expend as much time and labor on thework of re pointing and sharpening, as is necessitated in performing thesame. operation upon the usual form of shovel. The result isthatmy.shovel w1ll last much longer than the ordi nary shovel, and at the sametime the expense incident to the frequent renewal of the shovel and thelabor andwaste involved in cutting and repointing the shovel is greatlyreduced. I

With the above recited objects and others of a similar nature in view,my invention consists in the construction, combination and In theaccompany-ing drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a singlesubsoil plow Patented July is, 1916. i

shovel made in accordance with my invention.. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview-of a double plow shovel made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view thereof taken on the line 4'4 of Fig.3.

Referring now to the accompanying.

drawings in detail, and especially to Figs. 1

and 2 thereof wherein I haveshown my in-- vention as em odied in theform of a half or single plow shovel, the letter A designates the bodyor blade of the shovel, having an elongated slot 13 formedin the upperportion thereof, through which is designed to pass a stud or bolt bymeans of which the shovel is adjustably fastened to the usual shank ofthe plow. The extreme tip or point of the plow is indicated at C, whileD indicates the cutting edge of the shovel,

which extends obliquely from the relatively thin longitudinal side edgeE of the shovel to the relatively thick longitudinal side edge F of suchshovel the point 0 being formed by the meeting of the cutting edge Dwith the side edge F. Now, in the practice of my invention, instead ofmaking the body or blade of the shovel of uniform thickness throughout,I vary the thickness of the blade from one longitudinal sideedge thereofto the other longitudinal side edge. By referring to Figs. 1 and 2 ofthe drawings it will be seen that the bladeis thickest at the edge F,the blade then gradually tapering or thinning toward the oppositelongitudinal side edge E. In practice I preferably make the body of theblade with the greatest maximum thickness at the edge F equal to atleast three times the minimum thickness or that at the edge E. By soconstructing the blade, it will be seen that when the point becomesblunted and rounded it is not necessary to cut off a section or portionof the blade adjacent the point, for the blade not being of uniformthickness throughout, the blacksmith by simply heating the lower portionof the blade and drawing or beating the metal from the thicker towardthe thinner, or toward the cutting edge, may readily form the roughpoint which may afterward be dressed and sharpened. Thus I am enabled tosave a great deal of material in the blade and obviate the shortening ofthe life of the blade by cutting segments or pieces therefrom. Asstated, no cutting whatsoever of the blade is necessary, as therepointing and sharpening may be done by the blacksmith beating ordrawing the metal from the thickened portion toward the thin cuttingedge.

In Figs. 3.and 4 I have shown my invention as embodied in adouble-pointed shovel, the body of which latter is indicated as anentirety by the letter G, and is provided with the usual slot H for thepassage of a bolt for securing the shovel to the standard. In this casethe center or median line of the shovel is indicated by the letter J,and in this case the blade is gradually thinned or tapered from suchcenter toward both edges K and L thereof, the metal being relativelythickest at the center line and thinnest at the side edges. Inrepointing and sharpening this blade the same practice is followed, themetal beingbeaten or drawn from the center toward the point, and theside edges.

lVhile in the present instance, I have shown my invention as embodied intwo types of shovels, a half or single sub-soil plow shovel and a doubleshovel, I wish it to be understood that it is not limited in its usefulapplication to these two particular types, as it may also be employed inconnection with any of the other well known forms of shovels commonlyused on plows.

lVhat I claim is:

A plow shovel comprising a plate of malleable metal gradually taperlngand thinning uniformly toward one of its vertical longitudinal sideedges, said side edge being of uniform thickness throughout, said platehaving a lower obliquely extending cutting edge portion forming a pointat the thickest portion of the shovel, the construction and arrangementbeing such that the surplus metal at the thicker portion of the plow maybe workedobliquely downward to the cutting edge of the body to repointthe shovel.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

SEDGVVIOK M. JOHNSTON.

WVitnesses:

RICHARD B. CAVANAGH, M. E. HARTLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. V

